ARE YOU A BUSINESS OWNER CONTEMPLATING A CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE DIRECTION who wants to make a successful transition into the next phase of your life?

But you are worried that you don’t have a personal transition plan and don’t have your company ready for the transition. You’re stuck, “marching in place,” holding on to what you have when you need to move on.

Hi, I’m Pete Wendel, owner of Life-Work-Transitions (formerly The Peter Wendel Group). Over twenty years ago I guided my engineering firm through two ownership transitions – my Dad to me and, later, me to my partners. I sold my ownership in the company and started Life-Work Transitions to help business owners build their businesses and develop and implement their personal transition programs.

Whatever your business, you know that a time will come to move on. One day you will exit – you want it to be on your terms. If you wait too long you’ll go “past your prime;” your energy, drive, creativity (new ideas), willingness to take risks will diminish and your company will stagnate. Instead of harvesting your investment, you’ll bleed your retirement nest egg/life earnings to keep the company going. The key is to develop a ‘transition strategy’ and begin to implement it while you’re still ‘on top.’

You need to act on two fronts. Personally, you want to choose a new life style.
And you want prepare your company for sale so that you can get your investment out. Wait too long and you’ll discover that you don’t have a saleable company. You won’t have qualified prospective buyers can/will meet their expectations. You’ll have to settle for ‘pennies on the dollar.’

Whether an internal or external sale, the process begins with a personal clarity about your personal goals – the life you want to live after you move on. You need to ‘Build a boat to step into before you walk off the dock.’

Maybe you expect to sell to family members, partners or key staff members but you don’t have qualified, committed buyers who have the ‘fire in their belly’ who will take the risks and boldly step into your place with enough time to buy your interests so that you can sell on your timetable. Or you don’t have a workable ownership transfer plan in place. Or you intend to sell to an external party but you lack a negotiation strategy or a ‘profile’ of potential buyers.

You want to follow your new life passion. Beginning with a clear vision of the next phase of your life you want to create, you can develop and execute a successful personal transition strategy. Maybe you’ll start another business or maybe you’ll build on a hobby or commit to a community program that you deeply care about. Or maybe you’ll continue in your business but in a different, non ownership, role.

With a transition strategy that mirrors your personal aspirations you will have a clear vision of the next phase of your life you want to create. You will make an action plan to move you forward able to identify opportunities and overcome obstacles. You’ll know where you are going, what it will be like and the resources you’ll need to get there.

I can help you. I bring a broad range of experience in transition planning to work with you and your team of financial and legal advisors to help you map out your path forward. I had clear goals when I sold my ownership in the engineering firm and started Life-Work Transitions. Since then, I have helped business leaders build strong sustainable organizations, discover what matters to them and start on a new life path. Having clarity and focus has enabled them to successfully move forward with confidence and enthusiasm.

Will you sell externally - to an outside party, or internally - to your partners, staff and family? This is an important early decision. To explore this, please go to External or Internal Sale.